"Whoa! The ocean!"
That was Asta, who had grown up in a mountain village and had never seen the sea before.
"YAHOOO! So many girls in swimsuits! Time to go hit on them!"
That was Finral the forever hopeless flirt.
"Marie, this is the ocean! Next time, let's come here and snuggle together!"
That was Gauche, the eternal sister complex case.
"I'm fired up! I'm going swimming in this fundoshi that Captain Yami also loves to wear!"
That was Magna, completely high on hot-blooded energy.
...
Luck secretly lit Magna's fundoshi on fire with a spark of electricity, and the two ran around in chaos as Magna tried to put out the flames on his rear.
Vanessa lay comfortably on a beach chair, enjoying a cold drink, while Charmy was obsessed with a watermelon-smashing game. Grey was cheerfully transforming into various people, clearly having fun.
Noelle looked a bit shy, though it was obvious her swimsuit had been carefully chosen. It seemed her tsundere syndrome was acting up again—she wanted Asta to notice but was too embarrassed to ask directly.
Watching the beach become more and more chaotic, Charles scratched his head in frustration.
"Do these idiots seriously think we're on vacation? Don't tell me they've completely forgotten the mission!"
That's right—the Black Bulls hadn't come to the sea to play; they were here on an important mission.
And to understand that mission, one had to go back to recent events.
The battle with the Three Eyes didn't continue—because midway through, three Magic Knight captains had arrived.
Nozel Silva of the Silver Eagles, Jack the Ripper of the Green Mantis, and Charlotte Roselei of the Blue Rose Knights.
Unlike the former captain of the Purple Orcas, these three were unquestionably powerhouses—equal in strength to Yami.
Though Patri boasted that the Three Eyes were stronger than captains, at that moment, the situation was clearly turning against the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
The worst part was that Fana was completely countered by Charles! Charles alone was enough to keep her occupied. Patri himself was drained of mana and couldn't assist.
With four captains on the opposing side, Raya and Vetto had no confidence they could take them on.
Patri and the Three Eyes had more important missions—they weren't going to stick around for a desperate fight. So after a few probing exchanges, they chose to retreat.
Though neither the four captains nor Charles wanted to let them go, there was little they could do against enemies determined to escape.
The aftermath of that encounter directly impacted the current mission.
Until now, despite the attack on the royal capital, the Magic Knights hadn't taken the Eye of the Midnight Sun too seriously.
In this world, strength—magic and mana—was everything.
And during the capital attack, the Eye had only shown a fraction of their power. Their image was that of schemers who had hurt Fuegoleon with underhanded tricks—nothing the Magic Knights hadn't seen before.
In short, they weren't taken as serious threats.
With Fuegoleon still unconscious, the report from Charles, a mere fifth-rank Junior Magic Knight, didn't carry much weight.
But after the recent fight, both Patri and the Three Eyes had revealed enough power to threaten the entire Clover Kingdom.
This drastically elevated how seriously the Magic Knights viewed the Eye of the Midnight Sun. The latest captain's meeting was focused entirely on how to respond to their threat.
Through intelligence gathered from captured members, Wizard King Julius learned that the Eye's target was a mysterious object called a magic stone.
Previously, in their hideout, the Wizard King had found a stone slab embedded with these stones. Supposedly, once the Eye gathered all of them, they could activate a dangerous forbidden magic.
And now, they were just three stones away from completing the set.
As luck would have it, Charles knew where all three were. The first had been retrieved during the mission in Saussy Village and was still in Asta's room.
The second was in the Witches' Forest, carried as an earring by the Witch Queen herself.
The third—its location discovered through a captured enemy—was hidden in the Undersea Temple, located in a strong magic zone beneath the ocean.
Besides the three missing from the slab, there was another stone—the most crucial one for the demon's resurrection—which was currently hanging around Yuno's neck.
Though they had rooted out the Purple Orcas' former captain for colluding with the Eye, Julius still couldn't be sure there weren't more traitors in other squads.
And ironically, the only squad he could completely trust was the most disreputable of them all: the Black Bulls. Thus, the mission to find the stones fell to Yami and his team.
Despite this being a high-stakes mission vital to national security, the Black Bulls were treating it like a fully funded vacation.
Yami finally had to lose his temper and bury every single member in the sand to make them behave.
"But still...!" Charles muttered, dark lines forming on his forehead. "Why the hell did I get buried too?"
Charles hadn't been playing around—he had stayed at Yami's side, helping gather intel on the Undersea Temple. And yet, he got planted in the sand like a flower. How unjust!
Yami scratched his head. "Huh? Guess I buried you by reflex too. Anyway, don't sweat the small stuff. Let's focus on the mission."
He was clearly changing the subject. Definitely dodging the issue!
Charles wanted to argue, but Yami launched into the mission briefing, cutting him off.
"Listen up, idiots! While you were screwing around, I got the intel. The Undersea Temple is definitely under this ocean!"
Lighting a cigarette, Yami continued, "Because of the mana-induced currents, even upper-tier mages can't get near it! But on nights of the full moon, when the mana weakens, there's a chance we can enter!"
But what the buried squad members focused on wasn't the intel—it was...
"Wait… did Captain Yami just do actual work?"
Everyone had expressions of disbelief, as if Yami doing his job was some kind of miracle.
Yami's usual lazy behavior was so well-known that seeing him motivated truly shocked them.
"I'm gonna kill you all!" Yami roared, furious. It wasn't like it was unheard of for him to show some initiative!
Charles smiled. He had a hunch about what was driving Yami's newfound energy.
After the last captains' meeting, Wizard King Julius had specifically called Yami, Charles, and Asta aside and entrusted this mission to Yami.
At that moment, Yami—who was usually careless about etiquette—saluted Julius.
He'd said, "I just want to prove with my own strength that you weren't wrong about me."
Even someone like Yami wouldn't slack off after saying something like that.
Unaware that Charles had seen right through him, Yami continued, "Anyway, just like the name says, the Undersea Temple is underwater, so we can't reach it normally. Noelle, we need your magic to get us there!"
"Eh?" Noelle was stunned. "You mean with Sea Dragon's Cradle?! That spell needs extremely precise mana control—I can't do it! We should find someone else! If I mess up..."
"Yeah. If you mess up, we'll all get swept away and drown."
Yami added the most terrifying detail in a completely casual tone.
"This mission is top secret and assigned only to the Black Bulls! No one else can do it! So it's on you!"
He pushed harder. "There's one week until the next full moon. In that time, push past your limits!"
...
In the week that followed, Noelle began brutal training. But by the night before the full moon, she still hadn't succeeded in controlling her magic.
With the mission approaching fast, Noelle grew increasingly anxious. But mana control wasn't something one could master through impatience.
The water wall she tried to cast fluctuated wildly, then collapsed back to the ground. She had failed again.
"Owwwww!"
At that moment, she saw Asta running toward her with his greatsword. He had a crab pinching his toe—which explained the scream.
"You idiot! Still the same as always," Noelle muttered, but somehow the tension in her body eased.
Shaking off the crab, Asta looked at her and said, "Noelle! Great! I'm training too—let's do it together!
Just like last time—if you lose control, I'll stop you."
"Hmph! That won't happen again. But if you're really that desperate to train with me... then... maybe... I guess...!"
Classic tsundere Noelle. Charles sighed.
"Shhh!!"
Before he could say anything, someone beside him hushed him.
That's right—besides Yami, the rest of the Black Bulls were all hiding behind a huge rock, spying on Noelle and Asta.
Vanessa touched her cheek. "Aww, how cute! When did those two start getting close?"
Magna whispered, "Start? What do you mean, something happened between Asta and Noelle?"
Vanessa sighed, "Ugh, children. Can't anyone else feel the special atmosphere?"
Charles rubbed his chin. With the way things were going, it wasn't going to be easy for those two to 'start' anything. And the idea that these problem children were even interested in romance was more surprising.
Something's wrong here.
Charles silently cursed himself for being dragged into this gossip fest. Wasn't everyone supposed to be here supporting Noelle?
How did this turn into a tabloid stakeout?
This squad… in every way imaginable… is just not normal!
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [[email protected]/Mutter]
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]